Techno Teacher

A third grade teacher who uses iPods in his class explains where he gets his audiobooks and how to format them.

This is an interview with Mr. Johnson a 3rd grade teacher at Edith Bowen Lab School in Logan, UT. This interview discusses Mr. Johnson’s feelings on the use of iPods  in the classroom. Mr. Johnson also expresses his opinion on the importance of technology use in the classroom. Do you have questions concerning the use of technology in your classroom? Do you want to learn how to begin to use iPods in your classroom? If so…begin here!

This is an interview with Melissa Jackson. She is a high school teacher in Logan, Utah. She was asked about her feelings on gaming and its place in the educational system. She also goes over her game (an applet) on probability. It’s listed on USU’s website. Here is the link to all of Utah State University’s Statistic’s applets. Melissa’s is the probability applet, with a picture of floating fish. She designed the applet and it is a useful tool in many classrooms. Here is the link

http://www.math.usu.edu/~schneit/CTIS/

Questions asked:

• What subject do you teach?
• Do you ever need additional ways to reinforce what you are teaching?
• Can games reinforce what you’re teaching?
• How often do you use games to back up what you are teaching?
• Is there a certain kind of game you would like to see that could help you?
• Tell us about your game?
• What do you feel is most beneficial about your game?
• Is there a certain grade or age that your game appeals to the most?
• Can it be used in a variety of grades?
• What is the best quality of your game?
• Any additional comments?

Google Docs is a wonderful resource to use in the classroom.  Google Docs is a program where you create presentations, word files, and much more, and share them with others on the internet.  As an option, a teacher may choose this method of sharing to have the students turn in assignments and receive them from the teacher.  A student can log on any computer and receive any feedback, or new postings through this program.

To Get Started

First, create an account with Google, go to www.docs.google.com.

Google doesn’t require that you have gmail, they only require the basic information about you and an email address with a secure password.  Once you have an account with Google, not only can you use Google Docs, but they offer an array of free resources that you can use.

When you sign in, this is what you will see.  On the left toolbar you will be able to find all of your documents that you have worked on, saved, or shared on this program.  You will also see the projects and be able to pick on that you want to work on.  Also, you have the option to create a new project or upload one already saved. 

Creating A New Project

Google Docs gives you a few applications that you can work manually on Google Docs using Word, Powerpoint and others offered. 

Uploading a Project

If you already have a project saved, you may also choose to upload it and work on it on Google Docs.

 Editing

When you have chosen your work, or assignment, or presentation, you can alter or edit in any way before sending it to your students. 

Sharing

 Now that you have edited your project, it is ready to be shared.  You can type in any email address to whoever you want to send your project to. 

You can also change the rights of the people you are sharing your work with. If you wish, they can edit your work or just be able to look. If they choose to edit, you will be able to see what they edited and be able to choose if you keep that as well.

Once sent, the receiver can look over your work and send back any feeback.

Google Docs would be a great way to send out assignments and also receive feedback.  It is also beneficial to have the students email the teacher their work and receive any feedback that they can use to improve.

Games with specific content area

Social studies: Move boundaries around for elections

redistrictinggame.org

physics puzzle games

fantasticcontraption.com

vocab, math, geography, memory, alphabet

playkidsgames.com

every subject: math, science, social studies, language arts, puzzles, etc.

primarygames.com

links to other games with descriptions of each game

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/10/35-educational-games-and-games.html

links to grammar games

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/ten-grammar-games-and-lesson-resources.html

Math Games

http://www.xpmath.com/

Math games, word games, science games, games on many subjects.

http://www.theproblemsite.com/default.asp

Math

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

Quick multiplication and multiples

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Ghostblasters1/gbcd.html

Math Facts

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/math_games.html

Grammar

http://www.kwarp.com/portfolio/grammarninja.html

Geography

http://www.geosense.net/

tests civics, economics, history, geography, mathematics, and science by grade.

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/eyk/index.asp?flash=false

United States geography

http://www.usa.learningtogether.net/

Games to download then use in your class. These work with powerpoint

games made for power point

http://jc-schools.net/TUTORIALS/PPT-GAMES/

classroom games with sounds

http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/teacher/kara%20leonard/Mini%20T’s/Games/Games.htm

Games and links to additional lists of games

games are arranges according to skill, grade, and topic. K-6

http://www.gameclassroom.com/

games on every subject and every topic from a teacher.

http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/stuff.html

links to other games with descriptions of each game

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/10/35-educational-games-and-games.html

links to grammar games

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/ten-grammar-games-and-lesson-resources.html

online games for kids

jumpstart.com

There are several ways photo editing can be used to help teach the curriculum to students. The links below provide examples of ways that photo editing can be used in the classroom.
These first two links incorporate the use of Photoshop and Comic Life to help teach students. This first one can be used to inform the students about the state of Utah. This next link  can be used as a book or a presentation to help younger students recognize  Shapes in Our Environment.
These next few links use both Photoshop and PowerPoint to help instruct students. This Link is a way to help teach students Parts of Speech.  This next idea can assist you in teaching  students to notice words that are in their environment. It is entitled,  Noticing Our World. This last link shows a useful way to inform your students’ parents about the  Activities That Have Been Going On In School.
There are several ways that photo editing can help enhance teaching. Hopefully, these links will help give you some ideas of how photo editing can be used in the classroom. Try it out!

Sample Newsletter created using Office.  An excellent way to communicate with parents each month.

It’s early in your teaching career and you’re looking for the most efficient ways to communicate with your students – and not just information about field trips and class events. Yes, Microsoft Word is the ideal application to create a class newsletter, but have you considered all of the other tasks you could accomplish easily using Office Tools, including delivering instruction?

Q: I only use Word to type documents. What else can I do with this program?

A: There are many ways you can use Word to help prepare classroom documents and make designing them easier. With the 2007 version, there are even new tabs and toolbars that make the process extremely simple. Highlight important text, change headings and styles, and adjust color themes. And, very useful for the classroom – insert charts and graphics into your worksheets or documents to add interest, especially for visual learners. Also remember that graphic organizers are very effective for helping students organize and remember information, and these can easily be put into any presentation or paper using Word.

Q: My school district only provides an older version of this software. Is it still worth using it?

A: It is definitely worthwhile to continue using an older version of Office. Not every school has the funding to have the latest software, and older versions can still be effective for preparing the materials you need to. While you won’t have all of the toolbars or special features, there are still several options available to you, and you can still use Office to make your life easier.

Q: What is an example of a student project using Office Tools?

A: Recently, a local sixth grade language arts class used Microsoft to publish their personal brochures with a professional look. They spent multiple sessions in the school computer lab, perfecting their layout, organizing columns and adding images and graphics. Many students changed the look of their brochure by altering their fonts and colors, and each final product was highly unique. There are many similar projects that can help students achieve curriculum goals while expanding their technology skills.

Q: How can using Office Tools make my instruction more appealing to students with varying learning styles?

A: By inserting graphics, charts, and organizers into your instruction, all learners will be aided by seeing a visual connection to the information you are presenting. For visual learners, this addition can be even more useful, as they can begin to understand the curriculum better through these additional features. Whether you’re using Publisher or Word to create a class document, Excel in a math lesson, or a PowerPoint presentation in social studies, Office Tools can make your instruction appealing to students with a wide variety of learning styles.

Q: What are some ways I could incorporate PowerPoint into my classroom?

A: PowerPoint presentations in your classroom are a highly effective way of presenting information in an interesting and interactive format. Visit our tutorial on this page for information on inserting sound, video, and links into your PowerPoint document. Insert varied text styles and graphics to add visual interest. Try PowerPoint presentations in areas across the curriculum, but don’t do it every day – keep it interesting for the students! Let older students (individually or in groups) create their own PowerPoint to present to the class.

Q: Excel seems complicated to me. Are there resources available to help me figure out how to use this – and why would I want to anyway?

A: Excel is the Office component that most teachers express having less experience with, and information that helps educators specifically explore its features is not found so much as highly complex tutorials. Please visit our tutorial on this page for an example on calculating averages between class grades to compare data; many of the steps will also help you learn the basics of inserting data into a spreadsheet. Excel can be useful to you as a teacher in a variety of ways – to use in math lessons and for your personal use in keeping records and calculating grades.

The truth is, whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned veteran, there are many ways you can incorporate use of Microsoft Tools into your instruction and teaching tasks, saving you time, the commodity with the highest value in this profession.

We thought we’d post some links to articles about using games in todays classrooms. These articles may help you formulate your opinions, or maybe give you different points of view in using games in your classroom. The articles were found online.

http://www.librarygamingtoolkit.org/

http://wistechnology.com/articles/513/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090210134746.htm

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news240706gamesinschoolssurvey

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5398230.stm

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1514411/20051122/index.jhtml?headlines=true

http://news.creativecow.net/story/861462

http://lss.wisc.edu/news/174

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2136203/why_not_use_technology_in_the_classroom.html

http://www.edutopia.org/scratch-programming-language-technology-tool

http://www.colab.soe.vt.edu/mpl/

http://www.teflgames.com/why.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5063661&page=1

http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4189411.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/jun/02/games.elearning

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/SeriousGamesIncorporatingVideo/157412

http://archive.ite.journal.informs.org/Vol8No1/Griffin/

http://learninggames.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/technology-revolution-stops-at-classroom-doors/

PowerPoint has made making a fantastic presentation simple! Adding sound and movies are easy and quick and can make a PowerPoint presentation go from good to excellent in less than a minute!

Adding a Sound

At the top of the page go to Insert and then to Sound and Music and click on From File, Play CD Audio Track, or Record Sound.

Once you have selected where you would like to get your sound a small speaker will appear on your PowerPoint Page.When you are going through your power point the only thing that you will have to do is simply click on the speaker and you have you sound ready to go!

Adding a Movie

Adding a movie is very similar to adding a sound. You will go to Insert and then to Movie.

Once you have selected “Movie” it will take you to your finder (or an area with all of your applications) and then you will need to find where you have saved your movie (many times it’s in iMovie ect). Another box will pop up and will ask you if  you would like to have the movie start when you click on it or automatically, this part is up to you!

If that seems a little too confusing there is an even simpler way of adding a movie. When you create a new slide there are, many times, an option on the slide itself to add a movie (bottom right-hand corner).

After clicking on that link it will take you automatically to your finder and then you will need to find your movie and you are good to go!!